Gap assessment in current soil monitoring networks across Europe for measuring soil functions

Leeuwen, J. P. van; Saby, Nicolas; Jones, Arwyn; Louwagie, Geertrui; Michéli, Erika; Rutgers, Michiel; Schulte, Rogier P.O.; Spiegel, Heide; Tóth, Gergely; Creamer, Rachel

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aa9c5c

Cited by 60 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Gaps in knowledge or deficiencies in assessment for EU soil monitoring were reported as lack of data on earthworm communities and their roles [45], this despite another compilation by Rutgers et al (2016 : Table 3) [46]. This latter report noted that earthworms were surprisingly under-represented or neglected taxa considering their key ecological importance whilst provided means, here recalculated, as 106.6 worms m −2 and just 4.1 species per site (maximum 10 ± 0.95 =~11 species per site) for eight countries.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Earthworm Monitoring Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Decline of Earthworms from Organic Origins under Intensive, Humic SOM-Depleting Agriculture

Blakemore

2018

Soil Systems

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Abstract:In view of recent reports of critical declines of microbes, plants, insects and other invertebrates, birds and other vertebrates, the situation pertaining to neglected earthworms was investigated. Entomological reports found the probable cause of general loss was lack of recruitment from surrounding fields (except for pest species). Earthworm decline under agricultural intensification compared to organic fertilizing is herein charted from several long-term agronomic trials, some operational >170 years. Relative biomass losses of -50-100% (with a mean of -83.3 %) match or exceed those reported for other faunal groups, thus earthworms are conclusively shown to be similarly depleted from their optima in agrichemical fields. Concomitant mean loss of SOC/SOM humus is -56.8% and soil moisture is reduced by -22.3%. Organic farming lessens humic degradation and topsoil erosion, conserves essential soil moisture and biota, and produces equivalent or higher crop and pasture yields (on average +17.8% in this study) at lower cost. Loss of earthworms adds weight for rational re-evaluation of viable means for food production compatible with environmental conservation (agroecology), hence various interlinked benefits of organic husbandry in terms of yields, soil restoration, biodiversity and economics are briefly discussed. Persistence with failing chemical agriculture makes neither ecological nor economic sense.

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Section: Comparison With Other Earthworm Monitoring Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Decline of Earthworms from Organic Origins under Intensive, Humic SOM-Depleting Agriculture

Blakemore

2018

Soil Systems

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“…The proxy indicator system for modelling and mapping of the soil biodiversity function of Europe was based on 11 biological and chemical soil attributes: Total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen, total phosphorous, pH, clay content, three earthworm community metrics (abundance, richness, and Shannon index), microbial (bacteria plus fungi) biomass, bacterial biomass, and bacterial diversity. The process of attribute selection and ranking is described in Van Leeuwen et al (2017) [9]. In short, expert knowledge was collected through questionnaires to gather scores for attributes using a logical sieve method [49].…”

Section: Modelling and Mapping Soil Biodiversity: Europementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Table 1. Scores and final weight factors of six soil biological attributes and five chemical attributes in the model for soil biodiversity and habitat provisioning (see [9]). The attributes were plotted on the maps according to their z-scores taking the distribution of all data on the map into account.…”

Section: Modelling and Mapping Soil Biodiversity: Europementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also, many modern biodiversity indices were not explored for applicability to quantify the soil biodiversity function. Consequently, this soil biodiversity map of the Netherlands should be seen as one step in a series to improve soil biodiversity mapping by more and reliable data and through underpinning with better biodiversity models, for instance such as the biodiversity model developed in the LANDMARK project [9,39].…”

Section: Netherlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This work in progress is a follow up of earlier publications on a regional scale (e.g., Scotland [34], France [35,36], Netherlands [29]), and European scale (e.g., [20,21,30,32,37]). We took advantage of the progress of the monitoring of soil biological attributes in the Netherlands [11] and in many EU-projects, i.e., SoilTrec [38], Soilservice [16], EcoFINDERS [17,33], and LANDMARK [9]. The operationalization of the soil biodiversity function as one of five overarching soil functions was performed according to the design in the EU H2020 project LANDMARK (Land management: Assessment, research, knowledge base [39,40]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping Soil Biodiversity in Europe and the Netherlands

et al. 2019

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Soil is fundamental for the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, but our knowledge about soil organisms and the habitat they provide (shortly: Soil biodiversity) is poorly developed. For instance, the European Atlas of Soil Biodiversity and the Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas contain maps with rather coarse information on soil biodiversity. This paper presents a methodology to map soil biodiversity with limited data and models. Two issues were addressed. First, the lack of consensus to quantify the soil biodiversity function and second, the limited data to represent large areas. For the later issue, we applied a digital soil mapping (DSM) approach at the scale of the Netherlands and Europe. Data of five groups of soil organisms (earthworms, enchytraeids, micro-arthropods, nematodes, and micro-organisms) in the Netherlands were linked to soil habitat predictors (chemical soil attributes) in a regression analysis. High-resolution maps with soil characteristics were then used together with a model for the soil biodiversity function with equal weights for each group of organisms. To predict soil biodiversity at the scale of Europe, data for soil biological (earthworms and bacteria) and chemical (pH, soil organic matter, and nutrient content) attributes were used in a soil biodiversity model. Differential weights were assigned to the soil attributes after consulting a group of scientists. The issue of reducing uncertainty in soil biodiversity modelling and mapping by the use of data from biological soil attributes is discussed. Considering the importance of soil biodiversity to support the delivery of ecosystem services, the ability to create maps illustrating an aggregate measure of soil biodiversity is a key to future environmental policymaking, optimizing land use, and land management decision support taking into account the loss and gains on soil biodiversity.

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Hedgerows enhance the size selectivity of eroded sediment from sloping farmland under simulated rainfall experiment

Xiao,

Guo,

Xia

et al. 2024

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The particle size distribution (PSD) of eroded sediment can effectively reflect changes in erosion processes. Hedgerows provide significant soil and water conservation benefits and influence erosion processes. However, the impact of hedgerows on the PSD of eroded sediment remains unclear. Therefore, three slope conditions (control check, CK; only hedgerow root, R; and whole hedgerow, P) involving the configuration of two slope gradients (15 and 25°) were established, and simulated rainfall experiments were conducted under three rainfall intensities (60, 90, and 120 mm/h). The PSD, sediment sorting process, and sediment particle agglomeration degree under the different slope conditions were compared to evaluate the influence of hedgerows on the size selectivity of eroded sediment during water erosion. Moreover, the direct and indirect effects of hedgerows on the sorting process and sediment particle agglomeration degree were revealed via correlation analysis and partial least squares path modelling (PLS–PM). Compared with those under CK slope conditions, the average clay, fine silt, and coarse silt contents under R slope conditions decreased by 1.37%, 0.06%, and 1.71%, respectively, whereas the sand content increased by 0.46%. Under P slope conditions, the average clay, fine silt, and coarse silt contents increased by 32.61%, 38.71%, and 36.14%, respectively, whereas the average sand content decreased by 47.30%. Under CK slope conditions, sediment sorting occurred primarily during the early stages of rainfall. R slope conditions caused an increase in the duration of early‐stage sediment sorting but caused a reduction in the degree of sorting, whereas P slope conditions exhibited interceptive sorting of sand throughout the rainfall event. Under R slope conditions, more aggregates were dispersed into individual particles due to raindrop impact, whereas under P slope conditions, more fine particles aggregated initially, but loose aggregates were dispersed into individual particles during the later rainfall stages. The enrichment rates of fine silt and coarse silt were positively correlated with slope conditions, whereas they were negatively correlated with the enrichment rate of sand. However, there was no significant relationship between the slope conditions and the aggregation rates of particles of various sizes. PLS–PM indicated that hedgerows directly and indirectly affect sorting processes and sediment particle agglomeration degree by regulating runoff and sediment erosion, and the direct effects exceed the indirect effects. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the influential mechanisms of hedgerows on controlling soil erosion.

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Gap assessment in current soil monitoring networks across Europe for measuring soil functions

Cited by 60 publications

References 27 publications

Critical Decline of Earthworms from Organic Origins under Intensive, Humic SOM-Depleting Agriculture

Critical Decline of Earthworms from Organic Origins under Intensive, Humic SOM-Depleting Agriculture

Mapping Soil Biodiversity in Europe and the Netherlands

Hedgerows enhance the size selectivity of eroded sediment from sloping farmland under simulated rainfall experiment

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